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Technical University of Munich
Technical University of Munich

Generative AI Task Force

Team of Prof. Günnemann - Copyright: Astrid Eckert / TUM

Progress in the field of Generative Artificial Intelligence is breathtaking - as is the speed at which new applications such as ChatGPT are being adapted around the world across a wide variety of areas. From work to education to medicine and business, these generative AI  applications also serve as the basis for subsequent innovations. The increasing complexity of AI technologies, their large-scale application, and the emergent landscape of legal norms and other guidelines result in high degrees of uncertainty in the private and public sectors as to how these technological innovations can or should be responsibly developed, deployed, and governed. As generative AI technologies enter the market, the possible societal mid- and long-term implications remain unknown, for instance with regard to education and research, the labor market and the economy, but also the future of democracy and civil society participation. A recent call for a moratorium brought some of these concerns to the public eye.

The TUM sees itself as a hub for the exchange of knowledge, where students, researchers, citizens, politics, and business can learn from each other and develop strategies for shaping our society in a future-oriented way. Especially with disruptive technologies that create uncertainties in many areas of life, mutual trust between science and society is of paramount importance for a future of freedom and democracy. Therefore, the work of the TUM Think Tank's Generative AI Task Force is of immense value. - TUM President Thomas F. Hofmann

Against this background, the TUM Think Tank establishes an interdisciplinary Task Force on Generative AI (Gen AI Task Force) for a period of 18 months to provide guidance to decision-makers in the government, industry, and civil society as well as other stakeholders on issues related to the design, governance, and use of generative AI technologies in their respective application contexts. The task force brings together specialists from various disciplines at TUM with partners from industry, administration and society and initially focuses on three core activities:

  1. Development of guidelines and regulatory approaches: The Gen AI Task Force supports decision-makers in the public sector when evaluating the need, ethical foundation, and design of guidelines in the field of generative AI, for instance in the form of recommendations, best practices as well as policies, including future regulatory approaches. The aim is to carefully analyze and help manage opportunities and risks in the respective application area and to proactively align the various (policy) instruments available. A focus will also be on the monitoring and preparation of emerging legislation, specifically the European AI Act (incl. "Regulatory Sandboxes").
  2. Challenges Forum: The Gen AI Task Force offers a curated platform for information and knowledge exchange, in which decision-makers can discuss strategic as well as practical current challenges in dealing with generative AI within the framework of a so-called "Challenges Forum" together with peers and experts. This can take place in the form of round tables, workshops, research sprints on specific problems or "seed projects" for the development of prototypes, with the involvement of students as part of the Tech Policy Practice already being established at TUM.
  3. Horizon scanning: Embracing "foresight analysis" method and in the spirit of an early warning sensory system, the Gen AI Task Force collaborates with partners from industry to offer insights into the dynamics of generative AI to increase decision-makers’ awareness with regard to future developments and emerging questions. This does not only include technology development, but also behavioral changes and attitudes of users as well as changes in acceptance and perception. In this context, participatory formats with citizens and civil society are envisioned (e.g. Citizen Assembly, Pulse Surveys, Citizen Panel, etc.).

In addition to general (cross-sectional) expertise in the areas of AI, society, and policy, the task force focuses on the application areas education/training, research, media/journalism, public administration/justice, business/corporate compliance, and health/medicine. The Gen AI Task Force is co-chaired by Prof. Dr. Enkelejda Kasneci (AI in Education) and Prof. Dr. Urs Gasser (Public Policy & Governance) and brings together the following experts, among others:

The Gen AI Task Force collaborates with various organizations in Germany and abroad, in particular the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and the Global Network of Internet & Society Research Centers, among others. It also builds upon a research collaboration between TUM and HfP and the Norwegian Business School, the Berkman Klein Center and ITS Rio, supported by the Norwegian Research Council. 

Contact:

Program Coordinator: 
Dr. Markus Siewert 
markus.siewert@hfp.tum.de

Program Lead: 
Prof. Dr. Urs Gasser
Prof. Dr. Enkelejda Kasneci

Selected Resources:

Guest article in FAZ by Dirk Heckmann, Jan Gogoll and Alexander Pretschner on ChatGPT and exams: 
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/digitec/endlich-neue-pruefungen-dank-chatgpt-18760199.html

Position paper by Enkelejda Kasneci on the chances of ChatGPT for schools and universities: 
https://www.tum.de/aktuelles/alle-meldungen/pressemitteilungen/details/chatgpt-kann-zu-mehr-bildungsgerechtigkeit-fuehren

Urs Gasser's assessment of the call for a moratorium on AI development: 
https://www.tum.de/aktuelles/alle-meldungen/pressemitteilungen/details/eine-pause-beim-training-von-kuenstlicher-intelligenz-hilft-nicht

Contribution in the program quer (BR) about the chances and risks of AI by Urs Gasser: 
https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/Y3JpZDovL2JyLmRlL3ZpZGVvL2IzZGM0YmI5LThhMmUtNGIwMC05YzA4LWFiNmY3YmEwOWU5MA

Daily talk in Bayern2 on the topic of AI with Urs Gasser:  
https://www.br.de/radio/bayern2/programmkalender/ausstrahlung-3127914.html

Alena Buyx as guest in the podcast “Zukunft verstehen - Wie Technik die Welt verändert” with Sascha Lobo on the topic of ethics of artificial intelligence:
https://zukunft-verstehen.podigee.io/29-die-ethik-der-kunstlichen-intelligenz-mit-alena-buyx

SPIEGEL interview with Urs Gasser on a new policy approach:
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/kuenstliche-intelligenz-wie-die-politik-versucht-beim-tempo-der-ki-entwicklung-mitzuhalten-a-d718ee5c-c26d-4f31-8441-a9a8f603fece

Alexander Pretschner on ChatGPT in FAZ:
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/digitec/chatgpt-und-ki-die-maechtigen-neuen-assistenzsysteme-18587321.html

Dirk Heckmann and Alexander Pretschner in FAZ on novel ways to examinate students:
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/digitec/endlich-neue-pruefungen-dank-chatgpt-18760199.html

Christian Djeffal on Natural Language Processing and Legal TechProjekt NLawP:
https://www.mcts.tum.de/en/research/nlawp-natural-language-processing-and-legal-tech/

Publication on translation and AI in public administration by Christian Djeffal:
https://mediatum.ub.tum.de/node?id=1612279

Interview with Stefania Centrone on AI and philosophy:
https://www.fernuni-hagen.de/universitaet/aktuelles/2022/02/am-stefania-centrone-philosophie.shtml

Janina Steinert on online misogyny:
https://www.profil.at/gesellschaft/brodnig-insgesamt-eine-bedrohung-der-demokratie/402389756?fbclid=PAAaZsNBel2y92ZzdUefgp6C_4dJqbjuNFdOZUw3cZ8SCDs34LmwF3vxkBNuY

Georg Groh on LLMs and their ability to write code in BR:
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/netzwelt/chatgpt-programmieren-sich-computer-jetzt-selbst,TUX3U4j

Tagesspiegel Background on AI regulation with Urs Gasser:
https://background.tagesspiegel.de/digitalisierung/wie-reguliert-man-generative-ki

SZ article on AI and its power with Stephan Günnemann:
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/ki-weltherrschaft-kuenstliche-intelligenz-1.5890491?reduced=true

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